Tag Archives: Military

When Albert Diaz gets home and his kids are asleep, he’ll study alongside the only Oregon State student he has met face-to-face: his wife, Samantha, a psychology major. She was the first in the family to enroll with OSU Ecampus. They have never set foot on the Oregon State campus. They both decided to apply to OSU — and become a full-fledged Beaver Nation family — thanks to a Google search. The Diaz family is a fitting example of the benefits of the university’s wildly successful distance education efforts.

There was a pit in Bryan Zacher’s stomach as his 22-year Army career came to a close in 2013. He hadn’t put much thought into life after the military, so he jotted down a list of his hobbies: Fishing. Hunting. The great outdoors. Then he had an idea that changed his life trajectory: Turn what you enjoy doing into what you do for a living. That’s how he came to enroll online with Oregon State Ecampus.

Oregon State University’s oldest graduate, 74-year-old Jerry Kight, earned his degree in liberal studies online through Oregon State Ecampus. “I’m proud of myself and my wife for helping me do this and encouraging me to do it, and my kids, also,” Jerry says.

After his service in the U.S. Coast Guard brought him to Oregon, Michael Magstadt began searching for a university from which he could earn a high-quality degree online. He weighed his many options and ultimately chose Oregon State Ecampus because its reputation and academics would allow him “be taken seriously” later in his career.

Alyssa Halstead’s moment of clarity came when she was on a deployment with the U.S. Air Force. She realized that the best way to advance her career was by continuing her education, and the flexibility provided by Oregon State Ecampus makes that possible for active duty service members like Alyssa.

Michael Magstadt, Alyssa Halstead and Matthew Baird all served in the United States Armed Forces, and all three earned their degrees online through Oregon State University. They met the challenge of pursuing an education while serving their country, and here they share words of wisdom and encouragement to fellow service members and veterans.